“Took up line of march for Yellow Banks, 70 or 75 miles distant; traveled about 25 miles and encamped in McDonough County.
“Continued our march successfully and encamped at night, by order of Mr. Buckmaster, in a large prairie, two miles from timber or water. Night cold and tempestuous–much dissatisfaction and murmuring among the troops. All cursing Buck for keeping them in the prairie.
“About 12 o’clock reached Henderson River; not fordable–no boats or canoes. No pioneers had been sent forward to construct bridges. Army crossed in great disorder by felling trees into the river at different places, making thereby a show of bridges upon which the troops crossed with difficulty and swam their horses–two or three horses drowned. Continued our march to the Yellow Banks in Warren County, which we reached before night and encamped. Provision scarce. Hogs shot by the soldiers. Supplies brought up Mississippi River by steamboat William Wallace. No guard placed out at night.”
Private Browning was evidently a fair weather soldier and not at all disposed to accept camp life in a soldier-like way, like his superior, Major Buckmaster. Governor Reynolds is authority for the statement that after separating the army into two divisions the 2,000 horses, with their riders, crossed the swollen Henderson River in less than three hours, with the loss of but one horse. The boat with provisions had not yet arrived, which caused Governor Reynolds much anxiety. Neither did it appear on the fourth nor the morning of the fifth, when Reynolds in despair dispatched three pioneers, Messrs. Hewitt, Luther Tunnell and Orestus Ames, to go to Fort Armstrong, some fifty miles distant, for provisions. Before night they reached Atkinson’s headquarters, and by the morning of the sixth a boat, the William Wallace, hove to with ample supplies.[102] The times were trying and should have been met as bravely and patiently as soldier life demands.
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The spirit of unrest in the pioneer breast when in restraint must, of course, be considered and many extenuations allowed, but Private Browning, a lawyer, should not have been so critical. This spirit of unrest and insubordination was responsible for Stillman’s defeat and the unhappy and futile ending of this campaign. It should be noticed, too, in this connection that in the face of the Indian Creek massacre, when all were bound by every principle of humanity to avenge it, Major Buckmaster re-enlisted and fought to do it, while Private Browning did not.